Star Runners 2: Revelation Protocol (19 page)

“This is crazy.” Austin gripped the arms on the bed hard enough to make his hands a mixed shade of white and red. “I feel fine. I need to get back out there.”

“Give it one more night,” the nurse said. “You’ll be able to walk freely first thing in the morning.”

The nurse left, leaving Austin to stare at the ceiling. He sighed, trying to relax. He imagined being in a hammock, relaxing with a glass of lemonade as a breeze caused him to sway. Maybe he would be able to spend time with Ryker soon. Hopefully, this business on Earth would be over and he would be able to travel to Ryker, spend his leave with her now that nothing remained on Earth for him. They had no time to talk after the Flin Six incident. He only had small moments beside her hospital bed to savor, nothing more. When he closed his eyes, he could see her face. Relaxing with her would take his mind off Earth.

But his mind wouldn’t let him relax.

A fight neared, he felt it in his bones. Something wasn’t right. He closed his eyes. Even though he was now in the center of Base Prime, perhaps the most secure Legion compound in the whole of Quadrant Eight, he saw the shadow-like Phantoms every time he closed his eyes. He saw the men materialize from nothingness, clad in clothing black as pitch. They hunted him. They hunted his family. They hunted Kadyn. They killed Sharkey.

“Lieutenant.”

“No need to whisper, captain,” Austin said, leaving his eyes closed. “I can’t sleep.”

Nubern chuckled as he moved into the room. He sat down in the bedside chair. “Feeling that great, eh?”

“I don’t think my problems are physical, sir.” He swallowed and stared at the wall. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“I know.” He swallowed. “I wish I could say it gets better.”

Austin grimaced. “It felt different destroying spacecraft. I saw the explosion and marked another kill. It wasn’t a person. This killing up close—and trying not to be killed—is … difficult.”

“I know.”

A few moments of silence passed between them. Austin enjoyed the quiet and listened to the heart monitor.

“Your treatments are almost done,” Nubern said, almost whispering. “You should be back at one-hundred percent by morning.”

“That’s what they say,” Austin sighed. “How’s Mom?”

“Better,” Nubern said with a nod. “Better every hour. Kadyn’s in recovery and has been talking with our people. She is going to be okay, but it’s going to take some time.”

              “I should see her.”

              Nubern shook his head. “She’s being treated right now. Probably not a good idea. I’ll be sure she gets a message from you when she’s ready. Besides, you unfortunately don’t have that luxury, Lieutenant.”

Austin heard the change in his tone, a shift reflecting the chain of command. “Yes, sir.”

“You heard the briefing. Command is trying to shuffle resources around the quadrant. Earth only has so many fighters as it is. More are coming, but it’s going to take time. You know what we have to do. We have more ready fighters than we do pilots. I know you’re tired and you don’t have much combat experience. If San Francisco is about to be hit, we will need you up there.”

Austin clenched his teeth. “I’ll be ready.”

“Good.” Nubern tapped the side of the bed. “First thing tomorrow, you will be transported to Atlantis. Once you have your Trident prepped, we have been authorized to carry out shrouded patrols just off the coast of California.”

“Sounds good, sir.”

Austin smiled. He welcomed the idea of getting back into the cockpit. Of course, he had never flown in Earth’s atmosphere, never dreamt he would have the chance.

“Any idea what we’re looking for, sir?”

“Everything.” Nubern nodded. “Anything that seems out of place. Any ships coming into the atmosphere. We don’t know more other than the fact Earth is in the crosshairs. Intelligence still says San Francisco will be hit.”

Austin nodded and slid his fingertips over the laser wounds, felt the smooth skin.

“Your skin has regenerated and created new flesh,” Nubern said. “You won’t be able to tell the difference.”

Austin shivered. He thought of the flash of intense burning when the laser hit him. He could still remember the smell of burning flesh. He shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter,” Austin said, still gazing at the wall. “I won’t be forgetting this soon.”

Nubern touched his shoulder. “You won’t ever forget it, son.” He smiled. “I’ll see you on Atlantis tomorrow. I’m heading out now.”

“Ready to get down there, sir.”

Nubern paused in the doorway. “Ah, Stone, one more thing.” He nodded to someone in the hallway and a nurse appeared carrying a tablet in her hands. “You received a message during the night.”

Austin blinked. “A message? For me?”

“Yes, Lieutenant. I will see you tomorrow on Atlantis.” He nodded and walked away.

The nurse smiled and set the tablet in Austin’s lap. A white screen glowed with a white arrow in the center. “Hit play when you are ready.”

Without another word, the nurse left the room.

Austin swallowed. He had no idea who would have sent him a message. He took a deep breath and pressed the arrow.

The screen flickered, white static flashed. The image stabilized, revealing a beautiful and familiar face.

“Hello, Rock,” Ryker “Scorpion” Zyan said with a smile. Her black hair was pulled back. She wore a Tizona blue sweatshirt, the silver sword on her chest. Behind her stretched a gray mat like you would see in a gym. “I am glad you are okay, Austin. Nubern sent me a message.”

Austin cocked his head to the side, bringing the tablet closer to his face as Ryker spoke.

“The doctors say my leg has recovered. I have learned to walk again and I am getting stronger. I should be able to return to duty in a couple of days.” She looked at her hands. “You know, I wouldn’t have been able … I wouldn’t be, ah, I wouldn’t be here at all.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I know your leave hasn’t gone the way you had hoped, but I’m so glad you are safe now.”

She leaned closer to the camera and stared. “I wish we could have spoken live, but you know the distance between the Legion capital worlds and Earth is too far.” She shook her head. “I’m stalling … I wanted to invite you … here. After my rehab is complete, I will wait for you if you, well, want to come here. I will wait. I miss you and hope you would like to come see me. If you want. If you can’t and you want to stay there for leave, I understand. I, ah, hope we can be stationed together. Take care and I will be in touch, one way or the other.” She touched the camera, gave a crooked smile, and killed the transmission.

Austin sighed, staring at the black tablet. He wiped at his eyes not allowing a tear to fall.

*****

Base Prime’s hallways seemed empty compared to yesterday. One nurse passed by his room earlier in the morning, smiled, and continued on her rounds. A medical robot trolled by after the nurse, its servos whining.

Austin sat up in his bed and stretched, reaching his hands high above his head. His new skin tingled, but no pain flashed as he moved. He shifted his legs out from underneath the blanket and slowly stood as if he traveled on a ship in rough seas. Wobbling, he steadied on shaking legs.

The nurse who passed before stepped through the doorway. “Ready to get up and going, Lieutenant?”

“You have no idea,” Austin grumbled weakly. “My legs feel strange.”

“You haven’t used them in a couple days,” the nurse said, descending upon him like a doting mother. She checked his body sensors, pulling electrodes from his body. “It will feel strange at first, but you should be fine in a couple minutes. Just don’t go play any Ember Ball tourneys today.”

Austin blinked. He looked at the nurse’s pale skin and purple eyes. “Ember Ball? Never heard of it.”

Her eyes widened like plums. “You’ll have to try it. It is all the rage on the capital worlds right now. Might even replace Jouncy as the main pastime.”

Austin shook his head and chuckled. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

She stopped working and looked at him. “Have you not been to the capital worlds?”

“No.”

“Where are you from?”

“Here.”

Her jaw dropped. “Really? You’re from Earth?”

“Born and bred.” He shrugged and slipped on his freshly pressed Tizona blues. “I’ve only had my wings for a few days.”

“You’ve had quite a ride then.” She shut off the final monitor at his bedside. “I hope to see you at a game in the future.”

“Yeah. I will have to go sometime.”

Austin strolled through the empty halls. He passed doctors and two officers focused on tablets. Mostly he paid attention to the tingling in his legs. He paused at a terminal station and checked for the location of his mother’s room.

When he found her, she focused on a television in the corner of the room. The news played images of the San Francisco car bombing. Text along the bottom of the screen announced the solar flares had come to an end, but “hundreds of thousands” complained about the interruption in their cell phone coverage. Austin shook his head and looked back to Mom.

The skin on her face seemed stretched, her cheeks more prominent. Puffy red welts mixed with black circles under her eyes. Austin composed himself as he stepped in the door. When she looked to him, the tension in her face eased.

“Austin,” she whispered, her voice raspy. “Oh, honey. You look so handsome in your uniform.”

He clasped her hand. “Mom, how are you?”

“Oh, I’m okay. I think I’m okay.”

“I’m so glad you are alright. When they told me, I wanted to come see you. They said I couldn’t move, something about my skin repairing itself.”

“They told me you were okay, so I knew. I can’t tell you how glad I am.”

Austin sat on the edge of her bed near her feet. “You sure you’re feeling alright?”

She shrugged. “Some of this technology is beyond me and I’m a nurse.”

“You’ll learn.”

“I don’t know. I’m old.”

“Only when you think you are.” Austin smiled. “Besides, you’ve always been the one to teach me everything. Guess it’s my turn now. I want you to be out there with me, Mom. I know we’ll be on different ships, but I hope you want to do this. I can’t imagine leaving you here.”

She rubbed his hand. “Are you okay?”

“Before all this happened, I was having trouble realizing I would have to leave Earth for years at a time. That meant I’d be leaving everything I’ve ever known.” He looked at her. “I didn’t want to lie to you. In a funny way, I’m relieved you know. I just wish you hadn’t found out like this.”

“I know, honey.” She squeezed his hand. “When I saw you in the woods, the gunfire all around us, the forest catching fire, I thought I’d never see you again. Are the doctors sure you’re going to be fine?”

He took a deep breath. “Yes. They healed the wounds and regenerated skin over the burns. We’ve been here a couple days, but I’m feeling well enough to return to my duties.”

Her brow wrinkled. “Duties? What does that mean?”

“It means I’ll be transferring to Atlantis soon. They need pilots, Mom. That’s what I do.”

She closed her eyes and sighed. “I understand. You have to do what you have to do. I just can’t get over, well, I just can’t believe what you went through.”

Looking away from him and back at the television on a cart in the corner of the room, she wiped at her face. “This isn’t the college your father and I wished for, that’s for sure. I wanted you to have fun, to enjoy yourself, find a little bit of happiness. I didn’t want life to become so serious. You need to enjoy this, Austin. You’ve worked hard and never took a moment in high school to enjoy yourself. You’ve always focused like a missile. You ignored friends. Sometimes I think you only played baseball because your Daddy wanted you to or maybe you thought it would lead to a scholarship. I dreamed you would fall in love, have a job you would be proud of. I thought you were on the path of being happy, finding some joy. But you’ve changed. You grew up and have taken on this responsibility.”

“I have done what I had to do, Mom, just like you.”

“Your father would have been so proud of you. He would have wanted to see this. I wish we had time to talk. Do you have time to tell me more? The nurses have talked about you saving your commanding officers, how all of the Tizona Squadron and entire Legion Navy have been talking about it?”

Blood rushed to his face. Austin held her hand and kissed it. “I need to get going, Mom.”

“Already?”

“I need to get there this morning. I’ll miss you, but you will be so busy you won’t have time to notice I’m gone.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’ve been told you start your transition classes today.”

“What’s that?”

“Because you live on Earth, you are already a Legion citizen by default. The transition classes are supposed to give you the history of the Galactic Legion of Planets.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Fun.”

He smiled. “After that, you’ll begin basic training to serve on a Legion medical ship, if that’s still something you’d want.”